02 January 2005	Sunday	20 Ziqa'ad 1425

KIEV, Jan 1: Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich resigned from his post on Friday and admitted his appeals over a presidential rerun vote were unlikely to be granted, but stopped short of conceding the poll to opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko.

"I have made a decision and am formally submitting my resignation," he said in a televised address.

"I find it impossible to occupy any post in a government headed by these authorities," he said.

"Concerning the election results, we are keeping up the fight but I don't have much hope for a just decision from the central election commission and the supreme court," he said.

If Mr Yanukovich chooses to continue with his appeals over the results of the Dec 26 vote, which he contends was marked with fraud, Mr Yushchenko's official confirmation as the winner could be put off for weeks as the legal wrangling drags on.

Most observers agree that the appeals are unlikely to be granted because Mr Yushchenko's margin of victory is too large and there were no systemic violations.-AFP